real food movement

July 22, 2010

I told you a few months ago about our approaches to food . . . How we tried to focus on whole foods and cooking from scratch and buying organic when we could.

And then I watched Food Inc., and read Michael Pollan and really started to get the real food movement. It occurred to me as I was watching Food Inc., that here I sit, in the middle of Oklahoma - Oklahoma, y'all! - surrounded by farming and agriculture and a collective tendency to honor all things local. The horrifying images of and the brutal life lived in CAFOs stood out in stark contrast to the pastoral scenes of cattle grazing grass that I pass by when I drive one mile past our city limits. I realized how absurd it was for me to be a willing participant in the broken food system in our country when I am literally surrounded by other choices.

June 14, 2010

Last Saturday night, my sister and I went to dinner in Austin with her friend Patton. The topic of Food, Inc. came up, and Patton told me he resolutely refused to watch it because although he knew there were serious problems with some of the foods he was eating, he is a "poor grad student who can't afford to change my eating choices."

I found it interesting that on this topic, I have so much in common with a thirty year old bachelor.

Have you seen Food, Inc.? Perhaps read one of Michael Pollan's books? Do you subscribe to blogs in the Real Food Media network? Does all of this information about the importance of real food make you anxious about funding a Real Food kitchen?

That has been one of the most difficult aspects of embracing change in the realm of food. I've always just done the best I can do with the money we have in our food budget, and that often meant a lot of compromise. More whole foods, less processed, more organic, less questionable sources . . . I just kept remembering our trips to Whole Foods in Austin when we would walk out with one bag and a bank account $75 lighter.

This is why I have been so, so grateful for my friend Stephanie Langford's book Real Food on a Real Budget. Stephanie and I go way back to when she was just starting out at Keeper of the Home, and so I have seen her grow from someone who wrote only occasionally about food choices to a full-grown expert on the matter.

Stephanie has long been an enthusiastic fan of living well within your means and running a home in the most financially efficient manner possible. Her devotion to thoughtful spending has remained consistent even while figuring out how to bring the best possible food into her home for her family. All of the research, writing, and work she has done to share her discoveries at Keeper of the Home are now available in this incredibly convenient, outrageously helpful book.

I want for you to go - right now - over to Keeper of the Home to read the description so you know what all you will find in Stephanie's book.

NOW THEN.

Here's why I love it:

It is extremely well-written. Stephanie is a gifted writer, and her material is a joy to read. She can take the most complex ideas and approach them in a way that is completely accessible and very readable. In other words, she is going to teach you a lot of things that you don't know, but she will never make you feel ashamed for not knowing.

It is realistic. She breaks down her own grocery budget for you, sharing her shortcuts, practical solutions, and real food inspirations.

It is more than just a book. It's a complete reference. The vast majority is Stephanie's original material, but there are highlights from other books and websites sprinkled throughout, along with tips and hints from a community of readers AND additional information in the appendix.

It is for everyone. There will be some things in there you already know. I've been meal planning since I was a newlywed, (lo these twelve years ago) but there were pointers in here on meal planning I had not considered. There will be things in there that you've never dreamed you would consider doing (me? Growing my own vegetables?!) and she shows how it can be completely doable. Whether you are simply toying with the idea of baby steps towards more real food in your home or you if you are an experienced real foodie, you will learn from this book!

You can order the book from this page, or you can try for a chance to win a copy that Stephanie is offering to SortaCrunchy readers!

*** To be entered to win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post! ***